The classrooms are grouped together in groups of four, so students' core classes are in one location.

Other renovations are ongoing at Murray Elementary School and St. Stephens High School, both in Hickory.

Murray Elementary's $5.77-million construction project will include more than a dozen new classrooms, a media center expansion, a new school entrance and other renovations.

Construction projects, like the one at Murray Elementary, were made possible through Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB) from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Catawba County received more than $6 million in QSCB, and the money not spent on Murray Elementary's expansion will fund renovations at the St. Stephens High cafeteria.

Those school improvements and projects couldn't be done without the work of general contractors, subcontractors and other construction workers, which is why Etheridge said the projects are a key part of economic recovery.

"It's about providing jobs in a tough, down economy," Etheridge said.

CCS assistant superintendent of operations Steve Demiter estimated the Arndt Middle School project employed about 200 people, not including the workers who helped manufacture other products, like concrete and steel, to complete the projects.

Once the projects are completed, they will offer better facilities and more room for parents, teachers and students. Officials said those better facilities will make schools a hub for community and school gatherings and meetings.

"Schools are community centers," Etheridge said. "Really, when you think about it, a lot of people pass through these doors who aren't just students."

Etheridge, a former representative from the state's Second Congressional District and state superintendent of Public Instruction, said now is the time to complete construction projects.

He said the cost for materials and labor is low and might never be this low again.